Step #1 Starting Position

In the starting position, think about packing your shoulder/shoulder blade down and

back. Well assume youre holding the weight in your right hand, as thats how weve

demonstrated it throughout this progression.

If youre holding the weight in your right hand, your right knee should be flexed with

your heel back near your buttocks, and your left leg should be slightly abducted (away

from your body) with your leg straight. I will often cue people to lengthen through

their heel to get their core turned-on. This is the starting position.

Step #2 To the Elbow

The first motion is a crunch to get up to your left elbow. Dan John uses the term punch

and crunch, and I sure havent come up with anything better!

So youre going to crunch and punch, but also drive through your right heel as well. If

you combine this with lengthening through your left heel, it will be much easier to keep

your left leg straight and fairly flat on the ground.

One key with the crunch is to think of leading with your t-spine or chest. You dont want

your chest caved over. Instead, think about really exaggerating keeping the chest up and

out (good thoracic spine extension).

Step #3 To the Hand

There isnt too much to think about in this transition. Youre simply shifting your

weight from your left elbow to your left hand. Focus on keeping the right shoulder

packed and tight to the body, and keeping your chest up and out.

Step #4 High Post

This is where the TGU really gets fun, and its corrective benefits really start to shine

through.

From the on the hand position, youre going to actively drive through your right heel

into a high bridge. The key here is getting hip extension, versus lumbar spine

extension. Keeping your chest up and out from the onset of the lift should help

here. Think about squeezing that right cheek hard to get those hips up!

I often cue my clients/athletes to really hold this position for a 2 count, to milk the

benefits of this position. Beyond just the hip extension/glute strength, youre also

getting some fantastic shoulder stabilizing benefits on the left-hand side as well.

Step #5 Sweep the Leg

If youre a child of the 80s, you remember this quote:

Sweep the Leg, Johnny.

Unfortunately, lame movie references are the only thing I can remember at this portion

of the lift. From the high post position, think about sweeping your left leg back to a

point where your left knee is on the ground underneath your body.

One of the issue youll often see here is a loss of lumbar neutral. If your client has poor

hip mobility, they may not be able to maintain a neutral spine, which could cause issues

over time.

Cue them to keep their chest up and out and their lower back flat whenever possible. It

may also help to have them think about lengthening their spine.

Step #6 Up Tall

From the previous position, this is another smooth transition. All youre going to do is

subtly rotate your left lower leg so its straight and in-line with your body, and straighten

your torso so youre up tall.

Once youre in the tall position, this is an opportune time to check everything

else: chest up, long spine, shoulder packed, etc.

As I mentioned previously, your eyes should be on the kettlebell throughout most of the

lift. This is the first time where youll take your eyes from being focused on the

kettlebell, to focused straight ahead.

Step #7 Stand-up

Congratulations! Once youve hit this point youre exactly halfway through one

repetition!

All kidding aside, from the half-kneeling position you were just in, youre simply going

to perform a split-squat to stand up to the top position. Ive heard arguments about

exactly how people want this done, but I like to err on the side of simplicity here. Stay

tall, drive through your heel, and stand-up to a point where your feet are next to each

other.

Step #8 Reverse Lunge

From the top position, its time to work our way back down.

Take an exaggerated step backwards with your left leg, lowering under control until your

left knee is on the ground. Focus on staying tall and tight through your midsection, and

keeping your shoulder packed throughout.

Step #9 Windshield Wiper and Hip Hinge

Once youre set-up in the half-kneeling position, its time to start winding the lift

up. Begin by finding the bell with your eyes, and doing the windshield wiper motion

with your left lower leg to get it back into position.

From here, I want you to think about lengthening your spine and actively driving into

your right hip. If you do this correctly you should be able to maintain a fairly neutral

spine, and get a killer stretch in your right hip as well.

Step #10 Sweep the Leg

More Karate Kid references come into play here as well.

On the transition back, we dont tend to focus on the high bridge as much. Sure, its a

great component of the lift, but its a little bit more awkward getting into the right

position this time around.

Instead, Ill often integrate a lower high bridge at the same time Im sweeping the leg

through. This portion of the lift is a little bit more athletic verus robotic, in my opinion.

Step #11 To the Hand #2

Youre in the home stretch now! From the previous transitional position with the hips

extended and legs straight, simply drop your hips back down to the ground.

At this point, though, dont just flop to the ground! Keep your right shoulder backed, t-

spine extended, etc.

Step #12 To the Elbow

Virtually identical to the point above stay under control! Right shoulder packed, t-

spine extended, etc. Control and own this last portion of the lift.

Step #13 Start/Finish

Woo-hoo! Congrats on performing ONE perfect Turkish get-up.